“Hello, senior!”
“You have arrived, Tower Lord.”
After finishing my academy classes, I returned to the Mage Tower.
Jin Bora and Jung Seojin were already there. Jin Bora was crouched in front of a cauldron, experimenting with potion recipes, while Jung Seojin had spread out books from the library and was typing away on a keyboard.
“Tower Lord, I have an important report.”
“An important report?”
My gaze shifted to the books Jung Seojin had laid out.
“This is a history book about the continent of Erendel. Did you find something?”
“Yes. If you don’t mind, could you come over here for a moment?”
Jung Seojin adjusted his laptop screen so I could see better. Jin Bora, curious, peeked over, and before I knew it, Eia had appeared in midair to join us.
“To get straight to the point, by analyzing the disasters that occurred on the continent of Erendel, we can partially predict future disasters that will soon happen on Earth.”
“Oh! So that hypothesis was real?”
“It’s not 100% confirmed, but let me show you an example.”
Jung Seojin brought up a professional calculation program filled with numerous numbers and buttons.
“The numbers you’re looking at now are our Mage Tower’s ‘Mana Coordinates.’ Are you familiar with the concept of mana coordinates?”
“Of course.”
The Spin Guide Arrow utilized mana coordinates, so I knew them well.
Magic didn’t use Earth’s coordinates but instead relied on these mana coordinates for positioning.
“Then this will be quick. Look here.”
Jung Seojin reached toward a passage in the book. It contained records of incidents that had occurred in Erendel, with locations listed in coordinates.
“Erendel had its own unique coordinate system. I’ll convert it into mana coordinates using the location calculation formula devised by the ‘Imperial Spatial Magic Research Society.'”
Jung Seojin entered the recorded incident coordinates into the program, which processed the numbers into new values.
“Now, let’s convert these adjusted mana coordinates into Earth’s coordinates.”
Converting Erendel’s coordinates to mana coordinates, and then converting those into Earth’s coordinates.
After inputting various formulas into the program, Jung Seojin pressed the ‘Confirm’ button.
New numbers appeared.
“…So, what does this mean?”
Jin Bora asked blankly.
“It’s done. Now, let’s see where these coordinates point.”
Jung Seojin pulled up a world map application and entered the numbers. The screen quickly zoomed in on a specific location on Earth.
“Where is this?”
“Melbourne, Australia.”
Melbourne? That was the exact location of the Baphomet Incident.
“Wait a second! The event you entered… don’t tell me…!”
My eyes quickly darted back to the history book.
“Yes. It corresponds to the Baphomet Incident in the Kingdom of Aland on the Erendel continent.”
It felt like a hammer had struck my head.
The Baphomet Incident of the Kingdom of Aland.
And the Baphomet Incident in Melbourne, Australia.
Their mana coordinates were identical.
“…Whoa. That’s creepy.”
Jin Bora rubbed her arms as if to shake off chills.
“Of course, as I mentioned earlier, not every disaster in Erendel follows this pattern.”
Jung Seojin revealed results he had worked on before I arrived.
Numerous red alerts marked ‘Mismatch’ filled the screen, while only about 10% were marked ‘Match’ in blue.
“Only a limited number of cases could be precisely calculated using mana coordinates. There must be other rules or variables at play. I’ll continue my research.”
“…You really are a genius type, huh?”
“Of course. This is my specialty.”
Jung Seojin smirked, clearly enjoying the praise.
“…Hmph, for a guy who turns into a muscle brute when he takes his shirt off.”
Jin Bora muttered under her breath, but even she seemed to acknowledge his achievement this time.
Even if only 10% of the cases matched, being able to foresee any part of Earth’s future was a massive advantage.
“I’ve used this coordinate method to predict a few upcoming disasters on Earth. The one that will happen soon and has the highest similarity to the Baphomet Incident is this.”
Jung Seojin flipped to a page in the history book that had a post-it note marking it.
An illustration showed a grim tombstone at the center, surrounded by people clutching their heads in agony.
“That’s eerie. What incident is this?”
“The Undead Emergence in the Ginos Region. A large-scale infection event where a peaceful rural village was overrun by zombies.”
I read through the passage myself.
As the number of undead increased and even the village militia was wiped out, the Holy Church dispatched the Templar Knights. The knights successfully eradicated the undead but found that new ones kept rising.
Ultimately, the Holy Church declared the village a completely sealed-off area, designating it as a ‘Forbidden Zone.’ The undead never left the quarantined area.
“…Wait a second.”
“You’ve realized it, haven’t you? This phenomenon is similar to Earth’s ‘Restricted Zones.'”
Jung Seojin pointed to an open monster compendium.
“Only these two types of monsters appeared in that incident.”
— Rank 3 Zombie. Undead-type monster. Weak to fire and holy magic.
— Rank 3 Corpse Spider. Undead-type monster. Weak to fire and holy magic.
“…Heh.”
A sinister chuckle escaped my lips.
“Hey. Doesn’t this smell like money to you?”
“Hoho! As expected of the Tower Lord.”
Jung Seojin chuckled along with me, while Jin Bora looked at us like we had lost our minds.
“Are you two crazy? Zombies are appearing, and all you think about is money?”
“Think about it. Over there, it’s a ‘Forbidden Zone,’ but for us, it could be a gold mine.”
Jin Bora placed a finger to her lips, lost in thought. Then her eyes suddenly widened.
“Wait… You’re planning to turn that place into a hunting ground?”
Restricted Zones were areas where monsters roamed freely, untouched.
For a hunting ground to be established, several conditions must be met:
The types of monsters that appear must be consistent, no high-risk monsters should emerge, and, most importantly, hunting should yield profit through byproducts or mana stones.
The land where zombies and corpse spiders appear seems to meet these conditions well.
Additionally, according to the association’s regulations, the ownership of a hunting ground or dungeon is granted to the first discoverer.
Since we have knowledge of upcoming events and locations, we can secure ownership of this land faster than anyone else.
“As you all know, 3rd-rank hunting grounds are rare in our country. If we can take over and operate this place, it will greatly benefit the mage tower’s finances.”
“We could also use it as a private hunting ground for our staff.”
Excited, I slammed the table and stood up.
“You did something big, Seojin.”
“Thank you.”
Today, I could even overlook that annoying smirk of his. He truly earns his salary.
“What’s the location?”
Seojin opened the map program and entered the coordinates.
“Here it is.”
“Gyeonggi-do, Paju… The location is decent. When is the disaster happening?”
“Tomorrow.”
There wasn’t much time to spare. I looked at everyone and spoke.
“Get ready. We’re heading there first thing tomorrow.”
The next afternoon, we arrived in Paju, Gyeonggi-do.
“We’ve arrived,” Seojin said as he parked the car.
Stepping out of the vehicle, I looked around. The area had a large lake.
From the map, I had expected a completely rural landscape, but instead, I found a proper residential district lined with concrete buildings and various amenities.
Of course, most of them were abandoned or empty. Even the area around the mage tower in Sanggye-dong, where I frequently visited, had a similar vibe, but it was never this deserted.
“Oh? But it looks like some people are still living here.”
Jin Bora picked up a discarded bottle from the ground and inspected it.
“The expiration date isn’t too old.”
“There are probably slum dwellers around.”
The emergence of human-eating monsters had drastically altered human lifestyles. While high-density urban areas had well-organized systems to handle threats, rural and remote regions faced severe monster problems.
Realistically, the Hunter Association couldn’t protect every single inch of Korea. Monsters were constantly appearing nationwide, and assigning elite hunters to guard small villages was not feasible.
Thus, regions failing to meet a minimum population threshold were designated as “unprotected areas” by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport. These areas included containment zones and ghost towns like this one.
“This is unexpected. A city of this size should have been eligible for hunter support.”
Seojin glanced around at the deserted streets.
“It’s a matter of human psychology,” I replied.
“Even with hunters present, they can’t prepare for every possible scenario. Rather than live in constant fear, most people choose to move to safer big cities.”
“Then, why do the people here stay in such a dangerous place instead of moving to a bigger city?” Bora asked.
I crossed my arms.
“Well, it all comes down to survival, doesn’t it?”
Moving to a safer city was not an easy decision either.
While life in big cities was secure, taxes were outrageously high to fund hunter support. Ordinary people might grumble about the rising taxes, but the real problem was for the vulnerable—disabled individuals, orphans, and the elderly.
In a world where humanity’s every effort was focused on survival, social welfare had been in steady decline.
People with disabilities found it hard to get jobs in cities, and they couldn’t afford the taxes. As a result, they took refuge in unprotected areas like this.
The world was becoming increasingly harsh, making it harder for the weak to survive. This was not just a Korean issue but a global trend.
“If this place turns into a dungeon, the slum dwellers will have to leave again.”
“Yeah. It’s unfortunate, but it can’t be helped. The best we can do is minimize casualties.”
With that, I turned to Seojin.
“What’s the time?”
“About ten minutes left.”
“Let’s hurry.”
According to the grand archive’s records, this disaster began with a well turning into a source of contamination.
True to the pattern, the small lake beside the city started turning murky.
Well, these days, nobody would directly drink from it, so mass infection was unlikely.
I called the Hunter Association to report the dungeon’s discovery.
First, I provided my name and affiliation, then explained the signs we had observed.
I also mentioned spotting and eliminating monsters.
The association staff seemed somewhat skeptical, but after I sent photographic evidence of the lake, they started to believe me.
“If monsters have already appeared, this is serious. Understood. We will dispatch personnel to assess the situation.”
“How long will that take?”
“The team currently in Cheorwon will head there as soon as they complete their ongoing mission.”
Damn.
That’s going to take a while.
“Understood. Thank you.”
I ended the call and turned to see Bora looking at me expectantly.
“How did it go? What did they say?”
“The report is officially registered. Of course, we’re the first ones.”
“Yahoo!”
She let out a joyful shriek and jumped up and down.
“So, we’re going to be rich?”
“It’s too soon to celebrate. We need to evacuate the people and clear the dungeon before other players arrive.”
“I know, I know. Let’s go!”
I turned my gaze toward the eerie, gray city.
Could people really be living in a place like this?
